Most of us have heard the old adage, "a problem shared is a problem halved" but how many of us share issues which affect us in the workplace? We might have a good old moan to someone we trust. Moaning about our situations is a natural thing, it can be a way of reacting to difficult situations where we feel we are not able to change outcomes. By moaning, we can feel some relief in sharing our discomfort with our friends, family and colleagues. But what if we stopped moaning and started doing?

First thing to do is to identify the issue. Once you have identified the issue, and in my experience the problem you think you have isn't always the underlying issue. The real issue is often the one which comes out 5 minutes before the end of a consultation/conversation! Anyway, once you have identified the issue, you need to find a solution. This might mean taking responsibility for your actions e.g. you need to actually apply (or even look) for new jobs if you want to get out of the one you hate. It could mean identifying someone who can help you and making the effort to ask them for help if you are sinking.

These things can be daunting, you open yourself up to others and I often hear concerns about looking silly or stupid. The fear of looking silly is often far greater than the actual reality. I believe in most situations that once you voice your concern you may feel that you're not alone; frequently others feel the same but similarly don't want to speak out.

Here are some proactive things you can do

1. Make a pros and cons list for your problem and (try to) come up with a solution
2. Set a clear goal that you can work towards - be realistic
3. Do something that makes you happy
4. Create a list of positive resources for those times when you need a boost

So I challenge you, do something today. Make a change, even a really small one, talk to someone (without moaning) because...... to give you another quote: "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." (sorry!)